Like a whole nine days. Seriously, I went all last week without telling you guys about anything chocolate . That’s pure craziness, and I am going to fix this today with an absolutely sinful bar. An easy, chocolate loaded, Mexican caramel filled bar. Are you excited yet? You totally should be.
Also, I just have to tell you guys that after finishing typing out this recipe I literally got up from my chair and made yet another pan of these 7-Layer Dulce De Leche Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars. And… this was after I had already made them three times before! Once to test the recipe, once to perfect the recipe, and then another for photos, because I messed up with the second batch…and the third (UGH – I am not happy with these photos)! Anyway, I was not about to make them four times in two days. I mean, I was already buried in Mexican chocolate bars! But today, as I was typing up the recipe, I realized that I hadn’t specified the baking times in my little notebook. I was pretty sure I had them right, but I wanted to test them one more time – just to be sure (ahh huh, right). Ok, that and well, it’s been a couple of weeks since I made those initial batches, so to be fair to you guys I needed to have them fresh in my memory. Hey, I needed to be able to describe them in proper detail. Yes, I am now enjoying these bars all warm and gooey (along with some ice-cold milk) but that was just a fringe benefit, I made them for you, really I did. They are pure amazingness. Please try them. Please?!?
Let me break down the layers for you.
Layer one: oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (my mom’s recipe!) Layer two: dulce de leche (oh my gosh, the best!) Layer two and half: another layer of oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (it’s a half layer because it’s kind of a repeat layer) Layer three: shredded coconut (because I am coconut obsessed) Layer four: semi-sweet chocolate chips (oh yeah! Also, you can use milk chocolate, but I love semi-sweet) Layer five: sweetened condensed milk (the magic!) Layer six: roasted cashews (you can also use peanuts, but cashews win in my book!) Layer seven: a nice thick drizzle of dark chocolate to hold everything in place (YUM.) You see, layers of complete awesomeness, right?
Probably the best thing about that these bars is that, even though they are packed full of goodness, they are actually so easy and so un-time-consuming to make. The hardest part is most definitely waiting for them to cool. Normally I would say to screw that, but with these bars, it’s kind of important. Wait, let me rephrase that, it is only important if you would like to be able to serve them to guests. If you are planning on serving these bars to company, and would prefer to serve them in one piece, then waiting for them to cool is crucial. I’d even make them the day before so they have ample time to chill and set up overnight. They’re a super moist and gooey bar, so if they are still warm they will crumble on you, but once they set up they are pretty solid. But umm, if you could care less about looks than there is no harm done by just grabbing a fork and diving into the warm and ooey gooey, chocolatey goodness. It’s like swimming in chocolate, caramel, oatmeal cookie heaven. And no, I am not getting carried away here, that’s just the truth.
Sorry for the lack of photos today, like I said, I semi hated the way this (third) batch turned out, and all my process shots were all just so blah. Better luck tomorrow I guess!
And now is the time we all take a Tuesday break and makes some KILLER bars. Yes, do this.
